Station-indicator



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

S. N. ASHMORE. 'STATION INDICATOR.

Patented Sept. 11, 1894.

ma Hemus Evans co, mmmumo.. wAsmNTon. n. c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

s. vN. ASHMORB. STATION INDICATOR.

No. 525,755. Patented Sept'. l1, 1894.

l Jaz/620507 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN N. ASHMORE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

l vs'Tiirlo'rv-llu meritos.v

PECIFICATION forming part of vLetters Patent No.l 525,755, datedSeptember 11, 1894.

i v Application filed July 1Q, 1893. Serial No. 479,990. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.:

Beit known that I, STEPHEN N. AsHMoRE, of St. Louis, State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Staition-Indicators, of which the'followin g isa full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart hereof. y

My invention relates to an improved station indicator, and consists inthe novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will bemore fully hereinafter described and designated in the claims.

My invention has for its object to provide what may be termed a duplexautomatic street or station indicator, constructed to automaticallyexhibit the names'of streets or stations in both ends of the car towhich it is attached, or at two separate and distinct points upon thecar.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention, removedfrom the car. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a box in dotted lines, andthe mechanism for moving the apron. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of astreet car having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 4 is a frontelevation of a casing made use of. Fig. 5 is a similar view of anothercasing made use of. Fig. 6 is a detail View of a portion of the gearwhich is attached to the under side of the car. y

1 indicates a casing or box, preferably rectangular in contour, andwhich is to be fixed in position within the car at a point at oradjacent one end thereof, and preferably just above the top of the enddoor thereof. This casing has a front face 2 which is provided with twosight apertures 3 and 4 respectively,

which are formed therein one above the other and in vertical alignment,and each aperture is preferably provided with a glass face 5. Anapron-slot 6 is also formed in the front face of the casing 1 andextends horizontally just above the upper sight aperture 3 thereof. Thesight apertures of this casing preferably face toward the opposite endof the car, so as to be readily observable by-the passengers in the car.

7 indicates another casing, which 'is preferably rectangular in contour,but of smaller dimensions than the casing 1, and is located preferablyin the car a distance from the larger said sight aperture 6.

casing, say in the opposite end of the car therevfrom and just above thedoor of the opposite end of the car, so that its upper side will bein'horizontalalignment with the upper side of said larger casing 1.

The smaller casing is provided with a single sight aperture l8 having aglass face 9, and a single horizontal apron slot 10 is formed in theface of this casing just above said sight aperture thereof, and inhorizontal alignment with the apron slot of the larger casing at theopposite end of the car. Mounted to revolve within the smaller casing 7are three horizontal rolls 11, two of which are located closely adjacentthe front face of said casing so as to extend across the same, onedirectly beneath the other. One of these rolls is located with itsperiphery about in horizontal alignment with the lower edge of the apronslot 10, and another is located a distance in the rear of this one andwith its periphery in a plane a little above the periphery of the rolljust mentioned. A series of similar rolls 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 aremounted to revolve in the larger casing 1. The roll 12 is located sothat its periphery is a little above the plane of the lower edge of Theroll 16 is located adjacent the rear side of the casing with itsperiphery located in a plane a little above the periphery of the roll12. The roll 13 is located just beneath the roll 12 and just beneath thelower edge of the sight opening 3 While the roll 14 is located justbeneath and in vertical alignment with the roll 13 and just above theupper edge of the sight aperture 4, and the roll 15 is located justbelow the roll 14 in vertical alignment therewith and a distance belowthe lower edge of said sight aperture 4, while the roll 17 is locatedadjacent the rear side of the box in a plane slightly above that inwhich the rolls 13 and 14 are located, and a distance in the rear of theroll 16.

18 indicates two parallel frame-bars, which extend diagonally from thefront lower corners of the casing 1 to the upper rear corners of same,and mounted upon these bars in suitable bearings or boxes 19 are twoapron rolls 2O and l21 and a shaft 22. Mounted to turn loosely upon theapron-roll 20, which is located in the upper portion of the casing 1, isa gear wheel 23, and fixed upon saidroll IOC to revolve therewith is aratchet wheel 24 upon the outside of said wheel, and pivotally mountedupon this side of this wheel and arranged radially thereon, are a seriesof pawls 25 which engage the teeth of said ratchet wheel at dilferentpoints in its periphery, so relatively arranged with respect to saidteeth that while one of said pawls engages one tooth, one or more ofsaid pawls simply rest upon the outer surface of other teeth with outoffering such resistance to the same as will prevent said wheel fromturning, or moving, a shght distance. This construction is indicated bydotted lines in Fig. l, and a simiar construction is more fully shown inFig. 2.

llxed upon the roll 21 adjacent its end which is opposite the end of theroll 2O upon which the ratchet wheel 24 is fixed, is a similar ratchetwheel 26, the teeth of which project 1n a direction opposite that inwhich the teeth of said wheel 24 project, and mounted loosely to revolveupon said roll 2l with its outer face in contact with said ratchet wheel26 1s another gear-wheel 27 which is identical 1n construction to thegear-wheel 23.

Pivotally mounted upon the outer face of the gear wheel 27 and arrangedradially thereon so as to engage the teeth of the ratchetwheel 26, is aseries of pawls identical with those which engage the teeth of the wheel24, sc that said wh eel will be free to revolve upon said roll 2l in thedirection indicated by the arrow.

Fixed upon the shaft 22 are two pinions 28 and 29 the teeth of one ofwhich mesh with the teeth of the gear wheel 23 and the teeth of theother one of which mesh with the teeth of the gear wheel 27. Both endsof this shaft project a distance beyond and outside of its bearings, andIixed upon one of said projecting ends is a hand crank 30, which ispreferably accessible from the exterior of said casing, and featheredupon the opposite end of said shaft by means of an ordinary feather 3lare two bevel gears 32 and 33. These gears have their faces opposite,and are connected by means of a sleeve 34, which is also mounted uponsaid projecting portion of said shaft. The gears 32 and 33 are movedsimultaneously lengthwise of said shaft by means of a hand lever orhandle 35, which has an eye or fork 36 at its upper end encircling` saidsleeve, and which projects downward through a transverse slot 37 in thebottom of said casing so that its lower end is accessible from theexterior of the casing. Small pins 38 are located one upon either sideof the eye 36 of this lever so as to be engaged thereby to slide thesleeve and gears. These pins are iixed to project from the outer surfaceof said sleeve.

89 indicates a short horizontal shaft which is provided with suitablebearings such as 40 and mounted to revolve with one of its endsprojecting within said casing and the other end projecting upon theexterior thereof. The inner end of this shaft 39 is provided with abevel gear 4l, the teeth of which are adapted to be engaged by eitherthe teeth of the gear 32 or gear 33 of the shaft 22 for a purposehereinafter mentioned. Fixed upon the outer end of the shaft 30 is abevel gear 42 meshing with the teeth of the bevel gear 43 fixed upon theupper end of a long vertical shaft 44. The shaft 44 is provided withsuitable bearings such as 45 upon the car and extends downward so thatits lower end projects beneath the bottom of the car, and is thereatprovided with a bevel gear 4G.

47 indicates a worm-shaft, which has a suitable and secure bearing in avertically sliding block 48, which in turn is mounted to slidevertically in a bracket 49 depending 'from the under portion of the car.rlhis worin shaft is provided with a worm 50, and has fixed upon it whatI will term a small traction-wheel 5l, the tread of which is of the sameconstruction as that of a common earwheel, and this wheel engages thetread of the rail 52, and acts in the manner hereinafter stated. Acoiled spring 53 is mounted upon the upper side of the slot 48, so thatits upper end will engage some portion of the bracket 49 or of the car,to exert a continuons downward pressure upon said block. A specialtraction wheel is thus yieldingly mounted.

54 indicates a worm wheel, which is mounted upon the inner end of a longhorizontal shaft 55, and the teeth of which properly engage the worm atall times. This shaft is provided with suitable bearings, so that itextends horizontally beneath the cars, and its outer end is providedwith a bevelgear 56, the teeth of which engage the teeth of thebevel-gear 46 upon the lower end of the vertical shaft 44. The inner endof the shaft 55 is mounted to yield up and down, it being mounted in ablock 57, which slides up and down in a bracket 58, fixed to the underside of the car adjacent the bracket 49, and a spiral spring 59 has itslower end bearing upon said block and its upper end engaging some fixedportion of the bracket or car, so as to always exert a downward pressureupon said block.

60 indicates an apron of flexible material, having upon each of itssides in inverse crder and iixed at stated distances apart thereon, thenames or marks indicating in consecutive order the names or numbers ofthe streets or stations over or past which the car travels. One end ofthis apron is glued or otherwise fixed to the apron-roll 2O within acasing, and said apron is adapted to be wound thereupon in a directionthe same as that indicated by the arrow marked upon the gearwheel 23,and the opposite end of which is glued or otherwise fixed upon theapron-roll 2l within the same casing, and said apron is IOO lIO

adapted to be wound upon said roll in such a direction as will unwindthe apron from the roll 20, when said roll 2l is turned lin a directionopposite that indicated by the arrow marked upon the gear-whee127, thearrangement being such that when the roll 2O is revolved in onedirection, said apron will be wound thereon and unwound from the otherroll 21.

The operation is as follows: From the apron roll 20 the apron passesdirect to the horizontal roll 13, and thence upward over the roll 12,and thence out through the apron-slot 6 in the casing 1 and thence in ahorizontal line with its face parallel with the Hoor of the car andacross the intervening space of the interior of the car to the slot 10of the smaller casing 7, into said casing and over the roll nextadjacent said slot, thence again downward in a vertical linesubstantially parallel to the glass face 9 of said casing, thence underthe roll 11 in the lower portion of said casing, and thence upward inadiagonal line and over the roll 11 in the rear of the said casing, andthence outward through said slot again and thence in a horizontal linedirectly above and parallel with its under fold just described, to theslot G of the first mentioned casing, thence through said slot and overthe roll 16, thence downward to and under the roll 17, and thence to andover the roll 14, and

thence downward in a vertical line across the lower sight aperture 4 ofsaid casing to and under the roll 15, and thence to and under the apronroll 21. The special traction wheel 51 is preferably located as beforespecified, in a position about centrally of the length of the car. Asthe car moves in one direction, the traction wheel 51 is revolved in acorresponding direction, as is also the worm 50, the wormwheel 54, theshaft 55, vertical shaft 44, the shaft 39, and bevel gear 41 within thecasing 1. If the hand lever 35 is moved in the slot 37 outward, the gearwheels 32 and 33 are slid a corresponding distance upon the shaft 22,and the said bevel gear 33 is thrown into contact with the revolvingbevel gear 41, and said shaft 22, the pinions 28 and 29, the gear-wheels23 and 27, and one of the apron-rolls, are revolved in a correspondingdirection, thereby causing the said apron to be wound upon one of saidapron rolls .and unwound from the other, thereby drawing said apron overthe supporting-rolls in each casing, and causing the marks denoting theconsecutive streets or stations to be exhibited in the rear of the sightapertures of the casings, the lower fold 61 of said apron in the spacebetween said casin gs to travel in one direction, and the upper foldthereof 62 to travel in an opposite direction. The marked faces of saidapron simultaneously move across opposite faces of' the two separatedcasings, thus affording passengers in the car a view of the names of thestreets or stations,whether they be facing toward one end or toward theopposite end of the car, there being thus provided practically twoindicators, or a duplex indicator.

Instead of the glass faces 5 and 9, the sight apertures of the casingsmay be provided with opaque slides or covers, which I will denominate bythese same numerals, and which may be removed and replaced, in order toprevent sight by passengers of the marked face of the apron when it ismoving across said apertures with the marks in inverse order, as it doesin some cases, according to the direction in which it moves.

When it is desired to reverse the movement of the apron, it may beaccomplished by throwing the handle 35 in a direction in the slot 37opposite that above described, thereby disengaging the teeth of thebevel gear 33 from the teeth of the bevel gear 41, and bringing theteeth of the bevel gear 32 into engagement with said bevel gear 4l.

When it is desired to turn the shaft 22 by hand, in order to properlyadjust the marks upon the apron to correspond with the names or numbersof the streets or stations which the car is approaching, this may beaccomplished by so adjusting the gearfwheels 32 andl 33 upon the shaft22 that neither of them engages the bevel gear 41, and then said shaftmay be turned in either direction by means of the crank 30. Smallsprings 63 are fixed upon the outer faces of the gear-wheels 23 and 27,one adjacent each pawl thereof, and normally hold said pawls inengagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheels 24 and 26.

When the gear wheels 23 and 27 are moved in the direction indicated bythe arrows, the pawls of one of said wheels engage theteeth of theirratchet-wheel, and when said wheels are moved in an opposite direction,the pawls of the other one of said wheels engage the teeth of theirratchet-wheel, and carry said ratchet-wheels with said gear wheels andcause the apron rolls to be revolved or moved in a correspondingdirection.

What I claim is- A1. An improved street or station indicator,constructed with two separate casings each having a horizontalapron-slot closely adjacent the roof of the car, and sight openingslocated beneath said apron-slots, in combination with a single movableapron marked upon its opposite faces and folded upon itself with itsadjacent folds engaging the apron-slot of each casing and arranged toexhibit the names of streets or stations at two separate locations inthecar, substantially as herein specified.

2. The improved street or station indicator, constructed with twoseparate casings each having a single horizontal apron-slot and containing rolls for supporting an apron, and separated a distance apart,an apron marked with the names of streets or stations and arranged toengage said rolls in each casing simultaneously, and means fixed in oneof said casings for moving said apron in either direction, substantiallyas herein specied.

3. The improved street or station indicator, constructed with twoseparate casings having opposite apron slots and sight aperturestherein, an indicating apron folded and arranged to simultaneously movein opposite directions IOO IIO

in each of said apron-slots and pass the sight apertures in each casing,means for moving and reversing the movement of said apron, and adriving-gear constructed to move said apron automatically as the carmoves upon the track, substantially as herein specified.

4:. In combination with the movable indicating-device of a street orstation indicator, a Worm-shaft L17,a vertical sliding block 48 in whichsaid Worm-shaft is mounted, a bracket 49 depending from the underportionof the car and in which said sliding-block is mounted, a Worm on saidWorm-shaft, a small traction-wheel 5l separate from the common carwheelsand xed upon said Worm-shaft to engage the head of one rail of thetrack, a ooi1- end Will engage some ixed part of said bracket, or of thecar, whereby said spring Will exert a continuous downward pressure uponsaid block, a horizontal shaft 55 mounted beneath the car and having oneend connected to the movableindicating mechanism, a Worm-Wheel 54mounted upon the opposite end of said horizontal shaft so that its teethengage said Worm, and a yielding bearing for the end of said horizontalshaft upon which said Worm-Wheel is mounted, substantially as hereinspecified.

In testimony whereof I affix mysignature in presence of two Witnesses.

STEPHEN N. ASHMORE. lVitnesees:

EDWARD E. LONGAN, JNO. C. IIIGiDoN.

